Tears of a Blue Planet
by Warmal
Summary: For years, Stitch has scoured the galaxy. Taking down outlaws, pirates, rogues, and the likes. It should have been a mission like any other. But the planet reminds him so much of home. And the girl reminds him so much of her. Sometimes, you need to accept what's happened in order to truly live.
1. The Mission

Large. Blue. Filled with a patchwork of green.

"Kind of reminds you of home. Don't it, cuz?" The voice cracked through the ships communications relay. Slightly graining from the distance, and from the lack of care put into upkeep. A good smack normally gets the speaker working just fine. "Really takes me back."

Looking at the slow approaching planet from space, aside from the landmass formation, it almost seemed like an exact replica of Earth. Clouds swirled above what could only be beautiful dancing water. The biggest difference though, was that a large portion of land covered Earth's surface, this planet had only a handful of islands. Some large, most small.

"Hello?" The voice said. "Earth to Stitch. You in there?"

"Don't call me 'Stitch,' Reuben. It's 'six-two-six.'" The reply was harsh, anger filling the words. Six-two-six sighed before letting Reuben's image pop up on the display in front of him. Somehow, his tan yellow fur lost its sheen, making him look much more tired than he was. "And I don't have a home, remember?"

"Right, right, right. Sorry, Captain." Reuben wasn't happy with his response, but kept his lips sealed. "I was just thinking-"

"That's enough you two." Angel's image appeared beside Reuben's. "Should we get down to the mission?"

Time and time again Angel had to keep the two from arguing. Most of the time, she felt more like a mother than a cousin or partner. Even so, she still held the same amount of hope that things would get better that she did when six-two-six first approached her with the offer to be third in command of his ship.

Reuben wasn't as willing as Angel was. Being his best friend's right-hand man ever since the Leroy battle, he enjoyed his life. For once, not everything was about sandwiches. But eventually he was worn down, and Angel convinced him that it would be for the best if he joined.

"I already know the mission." Six-two-six said.

"See, hot cakes?" Reuben laughed. "He knows the mission, giving us plenty of time to-"

"Enough." Angel interrupted again.

"But I was just going to say-"

"Enough."

As interesting as it was watching the two argue back and forth, it was starting to get on six-two-six's nerves. "If it'll make you feel better, Angel. Please go over the debriefing again."

"Thank you." Angel flashed a happy smile. The one that always managed to make everything seem like it would be alright. "I know you already know, but Tarnet Magmora has recently gone on an arson rampage."

As she spoke, a third image appeared above the two experiments. A humanoid like alien with muddy brown skin and deep dark pools for eyes appeared. Glowing red veins pulsating just below his skin. Originating from a poor planet of only rock and lava, he turned to a life of crime like so many others from the outer rim of the United Galactic Federation. With 'setting fire to everything he touches' as a calling card, Tarnet quickly gained a name for himself in the black market and on the UGF's most wanted list ten years back.

"Normally, we wouldn't be dealing with something like this." Angel continued to explain. "But since there are no reports of any thefts, the Grand Councilwoman finds his actions rather suspicious."

"Which means her lap dogs go rushing in." Reuben added.

"Basically yes." There was a pause as Angel quickly looked over he notes. "The trail leads us right to this planet. Unfortunately, there is no information on it. All we know, is that they were contacted over one hundred years ago by the United Galactic Federation, but ultimately decided to stay separate. As per their wishes, no outsider has stepped foot on their land since."

"Until now." Six-two-six reminded her.

"Yes. Until now. You're well aware of this, but since we can't legally be there, this mission is top secret. Sti… six-two-six, you will be entering on your own. Be careful. The planet appears to be mostly water. Your communicator should still reach us, and just in case a universal translator has been added to your jumpsuit. Of course, we don't know what language they speak down there, so it may prove to be useless."

"It doesn't matter." Six-two-six began pressing buttons within his cockpit. It was almost time to begin the mission, and he was eager to break contact from Rueben and Angel to get some time to think to himself. "I don't really plan on talking to anyone down there. I just need to capture Tarnet and get out right?"

"Right." Reuben said with a grin. "But while you're down there, maybe you can catch a couple of waves? Like old times."

Six-two-six immediately disabled communications. If his crew mates wanted to get in touch with him, they would have to wait until he decided it was okay.

Back at the command ship, Angel spun around in her chair to face Rueben.

"What was that?!" She shouted.

"What?" Rueben asked. He turned to face her, his grin fading as he saw the anger in her eyes. "Looky here. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."

"You're supposed to be helping him."

"Exactly! Look at this planet. It might as well be Earth. What better opportunity to finally make him think and talk about home."

"Maybe so. But you can't push him. And calling him 'Stitch' was…"

Now Reuben let the anger get the best of him. He exploded from his seat, leaving it to spin around in circles. As he stomped over to the pink furred angel, he rolled up the sleeves on his uniform. "That's his name, sister. He is 'Stitch.' Since I was activated I never knew him as 'six-two-six.'" He said the names in a mocking voice. "It's been far too long. He needs to grow up and deal with what happened. I didn't leave my life behind just so I could watch him waste away like this."

Angel knew he was right. She tried to say something, but was unable to. She too couldn't stand watching the one she loved waste away into nothing.

"But we have to wait until he's ready." She said in defeat.

"It's been twenty years, Angel." Reuben said in barely a whisper. "When is he ever going to be 'ready?'"

\\\\\

Back in his ship, Six-two-six watched as the planet slowly drew closer. Memories had already started flooding back to him before Rueben even mentioned it. Of course he could tell it looked like Earth, he wasn't blind. But it only made him feel worse.

"Let's try not to crash like last time." He told himself.

Activating the cloaking on his ship he began to enter the atmosphere. They could speculate what the planet would be like all the wanted. It was now time to truly find out what this mysterious planet had to offer.

After a few short minutes of fighting the planet's gravitation pull, six-two-six was gently coasting in the skies just below the clouds. His heart nearly stopped at the sight before him. A never ending ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see. If he hadn't seen them from above, he wouldn't even believe that any islands even existed on the planet.

"Computer." He said in a monotone voice. "Locate 'Tarnet Magmora.'"

"At once, Captain Stitch." The computerized voice replied.

Six-two-six grimaced at his name. He made a mental note to make sure and change it once the mission was over. For now, he had a job to do, and it didn't take long for the tracking device to locate the outlaw.

Finally reaching what appeared to be the largest island on the planet, he set the scanner to do a more thorough sweep of the area. The faster he could locate the target, the faster he could get off of the island. There was no telling what his and Tarnet's presence might do, as there was no way of knowing how the citizens would react to them. It had been few centuries since the United Galactic Federation had first contacted them. It was entirely possible that the knowledge that live existed outside of their planet had been completely lost.

"Where are you?" He asked, directing his eyes to the scanner.

The island below him was magnificent. In a lot of ways it reminded him of Kaua'i. In a lot of ways, it wasn't. While filled with trees, they were unlike any he had seen before. They all swayed in harmony with the wind, it almost appeared as if they were actually moving. Tall branches that reached the sky, and all the slithering roots clear on the surface.

Small cities were plotted all over. Bustling with people going every which way. Humanoid aliens with sea foam blue skin and dark kelp green hair. The clothing, while a different style, still seemed to range among citizens. Dresses, pants, shirts, formal wear. There was far more diversity amongst the planet's people when it came to fashion. Though, Six-two-six didn't know if this was the planet in general, or just this one town.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded within the small ship, but it was too late. A large ball of fire filled the windshield, approaching too fast to dodge. Spinning the ship around, Six-two-six was able to control the damage his ship took, but still lost power to the engines. Cloaking dropped, he and his ship fell from the sky.

Emerging from his wreckage, Six-two-six coughed, trying to get the black smoke out of his lungs. His vision had gone blurry from the heat and the crash. Everything around him seemed to grow darker. Thankfully, his fireproof suit, fur, and skin kept him from being hurt, and he was still able bodied enough to extinguish the flames before he lost his entire set of resources and supplies. Once his task was finished, he still was having trouble seeing. Something had drained his energy, taking his mind back to a time he was surrounded by heat and red before.

Shaking the image from his head, he looked around at the sound of a branch cracking. A tall figure stood at the end of the wreckage, and Six-two-six went into a battle stance. Sadly, his body had taken too much, and he fell over with a soft thud. The tall figure slowly made its way over to him. All he saw before he blacked out, was a sickening smile, and glowing red veins.

\\\\\

With the sound of a large crash off in the distance, Lilac made a break for it.

Dashing out from behind a tree, she ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. She didn't know why the sound made her run, but once she was out in the open it was too late to go back. The bushes rushed up to her quickly, and she dove once she thought she had heard something behind her. Taking a chance, she popped her head out and looked back at her house. There was no one to be seen. With a sigh of relief she let herself catch her breath for a moment.

Her heart beat with worry and excitement. She had never been so far away from home before. Now, looking at the large house on the edge of the cliff, she wondered if she was actually going to go through with this.

"Father will kill me." She said to herself. A bead of sweat rolling down her brow. There was plenty of reasons to run back, pretend like she hadn't tried to escape. That wasn't an option though. "Who cares?"

With that, she turned towards the dense forest and ran. She didn't know where she was going or how she was going to get there. It didn't matter to her though. All that mattered was that she was finally free. Free to do what she wanted, when she wanted. For the first time in her short life, she didn't have anyone to tell her what to do.

And she was going to keep it that way.


	2. Loss

"I can't believe I'm free!"

The young girl ran through the forest. With a skip in her step and a joy in her heart she had never felt before, she let her feet carry her wherever they decided to go. The crash had long since left her mind, as did any repercussion for her actions. All that mattered was that she was out and she was finally having fun.

As she ran, it felt like all the forest animals and wildlife ran with her. Dancing through the branches and sky with as much happiness as she had. The sun cascaded through the trees, giving her wild path a heavenly glow.

Caught up in the moment, she didn't notice a root snake its way onto her path. Her foot got tangled up in it, and she fell to the ground hard. Tumbling through the forest, she finally came to a stop on her back, staring up at the sky. She was out of the forest.

"I made it." Lilac whispered.

Bright and puffy clouds filled her view. But they weren't the same clouds she had seen every day. These ones were filled with all the possibilities for her future. Everything she could do.

"Now what should I do?" She asked herself, standing up and brushing off her oceanic print dress.

With nothing in her way, her mind had suddenly gone blank. Day after day, and night after night, she would dream about all the things she would do once she escaped. Now that she was out in the world, she had no idea what to do. No goal in mind, she started to walk.

And walk.

And walk.

And walk.

Even though she was out of the forest, she had no idea where the closes city was. All she had before her was a long dirt road that winded between the trees. In the distance she could see water, making it feel like the road only led to the ocean. Down the other path, it wrapped around the forest, giving her no idea on which path to take.

"This isn't going to be as easy as I thought." She sighed.

Lilac lifted her head with courage and set down towards the ocean. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like if there was a city or town anywhere nearby, they would want to be by the water. Even her young mind could understand the need for water, and she knew that lunch time was coming soon. So she would need something to drink, and to eat.

"Maybe I didn't plan this out as much as I thought."

\\\\\

Silence.

Silence was always the worst part of space. No sounds, just a void of never ending darkness.

Reuben stared at the monitors, making sure that nothing out of the ordinary happened. As well to make sure that he answered the moment six-two-six called. He was scheduled to make contact hours ago. So the lack of word from their commander was starting to put him on edge. His eyes stayed glued to the flickering image, hoping that at any second it would show some sort of sign from his cousin.

Sadly, the screen never changed. It only ever showed the slow moving planet in the distance. And rather than contact from six-two-six, he heard the door to the command bridge open behind him.

"Hey, Reuben." Angel said with a cheery smile. "I brought you a sandwich."

"Thanks." Reuben replied without turning around. "But I'm not hungry."

"Come on. You? Turn down a sandwich?" Unable to believe it, she placed the plate down beside him anyway.

"I said I'm not hungry!" He snapped at her.

Angel blinked at him absently before turning around and walking away. Reuben let out a sigh and stared at the sandwich. A classic sourdough cheese sandwich with a little mayo and mustard, one of his favorites. He looked back towards the monitor before chasing after the girl into the hall. He hoped against hope that he hadn't hurt her feelings too much.

"Angel, wait!" He called out. Seeing that she stopped, he quit running a few feet from her. She didn't turn to look, only waiting for him to continue. "I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I'm just worried. Stitch should have made contact with us a while ago, and I haven't been able to get through."

"He's probably just mad at us for earlier and wants to be alone… again."

Reuben gritted his teeth. "Well if that's the case then he's doing a great job worrying us over something stupid." He slammed his fist against the wall, almost leaving a dent in it out of anger. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of him. I don't know if these missions are supposed to help him cope or let off steam, but it's clearly not working. And he's dragging us around the galaxy along with him to boot. I'm sick and tired of all of this."

"Are you tired of me too?" Angel asked, finally turning to him.

Losing his breath, Reuben stared at her. He could see small tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Being so caught up in his own feelings, he didn't think to realize how the situation had affected Angel. She had been going through all of this even longer than he had. More than likely, she was feeling even more isolated and alone. With no words of comfort, he tried to apologize, tried to say anything. But all the words got caught in his throat, forcing him to look away.

"Okay." Angel said. More to herself than to him. "You should eat something. And get some rest. He'll call us when he's ready. He always does." She began to walk away, but paused and looked at him to say one final thing. "I'm sorry I stole you away from your life for this." She motioned to the area in general. "I never meant for it to last this long. I really did hope things would be better by now. But you're not the only one who lost something because of the way Stitch has decided to act."

"What?"

Reuben's question fell on deaf ears. Angel was finished with the conversation, leaving them to part ways once again. Together, but alone and isolated on the small command ship.

\\\\\

Once six-two-six finally came to, his mind was reeling from the attack. All that stuck in his mind was the last thing he could remember. The evil smile that had stood over him. One that sent immobilizing fear and chills through his body.

"Why didn't he finish me?" He wondered out loud.

As far as he knew, he was completely vulnerable. An easy target. Anyone could have managed to finish him then. And even if they didn't have the strength to destroy him, he would have been easy enough to capture.

"So why didn't you?"

Looking at his wrecked and fire damaged ship, his heart suddenly began to race. With an extreme panic, he ran to what remained of the side entrance door. This ship was meant for only one man to pilot, used mostly for stealth missions, or ones where he needed to be a bit more nimble. It wasn't as fast as some of the cruisers, nor as powerful, but it got the job done on multiple occasions. Despite being on the smaller side, it still had a small living space just behind the cockpit. It was only big enough for a bed and some cabinets for storing whatever would be needed, but that was all the space he could ever want. There wasn't a whole lot he needed to take around with him anymore.

However, it wasn't the bed he was worried about. It was what he had kept there for safety.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it!?"

Six-two-six repeated the question over and over. Nearly tearing the entire ship apart. It smelled awful. Like burnt fur and wet dog. He was thankful that he was able to put the fire out as quickly as he did. If he wasn't fireproof things would have been much worse. None of that would matter to him if he didn't find the small box he always kept hidden under the pillow.

Desperately, he looked and looked and looked for the precious item, until he finally collapsed on what remained of the bed.

"No…" He whispered to himself. "How could I let this happen? Feeling like his heart was about to break and a lump caught in his throat, his mind flashed to what the true cause of this was. "Tarnet. You're going to pay for this."

Ignoring proper protocol, six-two-six decided to head out on the bounty hunt rather than call back to his ship. His anger started to pump adrenaline through him, and the only way he was ever going to manage to calm down, was to capture the one who had done this to him.

Grabbing what remained of his capture equipment, he stepped out of his ship. The sun had already began to set low in the sky. With no idea how long day and night lasted on this planet, six-two-six realized how little of an advantage he actually had. Back-up, or some sort of guide would be more than welcomed. Sadly, there was no time for that.

"Computer." He said in a commanding voice. "Locate Tarnet Magmora."

A deafening ring and buzz emitted from the tracking device in his hand. After smacking it with his fist a few times, it gave a weak signal, giving him at least a sense of direction to follow.

He looked up, rather surprised by the direction the device was showing. "Towards the coast, huh?"

Through the few trees, he could see a slight glimmer of light reflecting off water. The familiar scent of salt also wafted through the air along with the warm oceanic breeze. It was near eerie how much this island reminded him of Earth. And the feeling only grew with each step he took towards the distant ocean. It was as if everywhere he looked was some twisted joke. Trying to remind him of the past, trying to bring up old memories and feelings he had long since tried to forget and bury down. Bury deep within himself.

He knew full well how much Reuben and Angel were trying to make him talk about the past. His past. A part of him wish he could. That was why he had asked Angel to join him in the first place. To have some sort of reminder of where he came from, and what he hoped he could return to. But the days turned into weeks turned into months turned into years. And it only became more and more difficult to try and talk and remember. It became so long that he couldn't even bring himself to try anymore, and every time they tried to bring it up it only made him angry. Angry at them, and angry at himself. Now, he just lived with it. Lived with the knowledge that nothing would make it better, and that he would feel this emptiness inside him for however long he managed to live.

And with the way he had been fighting during the last few jobs. His reckless endangerment to not only himself, but his crew. It didn't look like that would be too much longer.

As he reached the edge of the forest, the sound of a nearby town quickly overtook the sounds of the wildlife. A few vehicles whizzed through the winding roads, and people quickly hurried themselves to their personal destinations. Either none of them had noticed, or cared that his spaceship had crashed a mere walking distance from their small home.

Hoping it was former, six-two-six quickly hurried down the slopping hills to the edge of town. Needing to stay hidden, not just form the general public but also from Tarnet, he eyed the tracking device again. This time there was no loud beeps or sounds. The faint signal had somehow grown fainter. Thankfully, he wasn't going to need it in order to locate his target.

"Help!"

The scream of a young girl came crashing into him like a blue punch buddy. With no hesitation he ran along the edge of the town, keeping behind buildings and with the shrubs. He ignored the instinctual feeling that swelled inside him at the cry for help. There was honestly no proof that Tarnet was even the cause of the scream. But six-two-six wasn't going to just stand by and play guessing games. He was going to be there as fast as he could to help.


	3. Rescue

The call for help continued a couple of times. Each time, six-two-six could hear it louder and louder. Clearly he was running in the right direction, but it was weird that none of the civilians in sight did anything about it. Not a single one seemed to even care for the cries. They all just continued on their way. He thought for a moment that maybe they could not hear her, or perhaps they communicated in a different way. But if that were the case, then the call for help wouldn't have existed in the first place.

The hot sun beat down on his body, still wary from the earlier crash. The buildings supplied plenty of shade. Some reaching near towering height despite being built from what appeared to be basic materials. If he didn't clearly stand out so much from the population, he would take to the main dirt road. His blue fur was just too different from their fairer blue skin. There was also the problem with the fact that he had fur and was plenty shorter.

"Help!"

The call came again and six-two-six could tell it wasn't too far away. He had finally reached the sound of distress within a few short moments, climbing to the top of a nearby building to get a vantage point. From a quick scan of the situation, it would seem that nothing was out of the ordinary aside from the call for help. All the civilians continued to walk through the streets as if nothing was happening. The largest issue he had with the situation though, was that Tarnet was no where to be found. There wasn't even a sign of scorched earth or building. All was intact and normal.

Having done plenty of research on his target before coming to the planet, if Tarnet had been involved in this situation, there would be a monumental amount of damage. With a complacent sigh, six-two-six let his guard down. It was then that he realized just how much the coastal town looked like Hawai'i. From the abundant plant life, to the carefree breeze, and even the relaxing nature to the busywork below. This mission continued to haunt him in ways he wish he could forget.

Just before he was going to back down and start his search again, he was stopped.

"Please. Someone. Anyone. Help!"

It sounded like a young child. The voice kept him held in place. It was his job to capture Tarnet. Not help the general populace. He wasn't even supposed to be seen or heard from on this planet. Risking that could cause a war this planet had no chance of winning. His heart wished that just one person would stop and answer the call. But alas, no one did. It seemed to only reach six-two-six.

"I shouldn't," six-two-six said, gripping the edge of the building tight. "I have a mission." Again he heard the plea. "Why do I always do these things?"

He couldn't hold himself back. Keeping to the rooftops, he jumped from building to building. Taking extra care not to be spotted, he paused to gauge the distance before leaping across the road. If anyone had spotted the small alien take the leap they made no tell of it. Not a scream, cry, or movement. It started to put a chill down his spine.

He could easily name planet after planet that had such uptight people that they would only stick to themselves, but this was ridiculous. What should have felt like an extremely lively street felt void of feeling. There was no time to be thinking of this however. With another mighty leap, he was back in safety behind the buildings near the ocean. An unbeaten path followed a small hill leading back down towards a steam. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this was where he was hearing the cry from.

"This is your last chance," he told himself. "If you go through with this the mission is compromised."

Who was he kidding? He had already come this far.

Making sure the path was clear, he ran on all fours until he came across a well. Quiet sobs echoed out from the mossy stone bricks. Hopelessness and sadness oozed from the well as dark clouds began to swirl overhead.

"Hello?" he called down into the near pitch black well.

The crying instantly stopped, bringing out a pause of contemplation.

"Hello?" he said again, making sure they knew that he was in fact there. "Do you need help?"

"Y-yes," a sore voice croaked. "Please. Help me. I-I'm stuck."

"You can't climb out?"

"No. I tried." Six-two-six could here splashing against water. "It's too slippery."

At this point, his cover wasn't yet blown. He could still walk away.

Instead he switched to his night vision, finally getting a good look at the one trapped at the bottom. A small girl sat curled into herself against the side of the well. She was extremely lucky that the water was drained so much. If it had been a couple of feet deeper, she would probably had drowned. The way she shivered let him know that it had been a long time since she had fallen in.

"I'm coming to get you."

The clouds finally parted, allowing light down into the dark hole. He could see she was trying to look up at her saviour, but the light was blinding her too much. Testing that his palms would stick to the sides still, six-two-six crawled down into the well. The closer he got to the bottom, the more he began to slip.

"Okay," he said to the girl. He kept facing the wall, trying to hide his face. "You'll have to hold on tight."

If the girl had any qualms about who he was, why he looked different, or how he was able to scale down the wall, she kept them to herself. Six-two-six didn't even know if her eyes had adjusted to light to let her see him. All he felt was a pair of arms wrapped around him in a tight hug.

"You ready?" he asked.

The girl nodded against his back and he began to climb.

Once the two were out of the well, Six-two-six quickly dashed into the bushes. He could already hear Angel yelling at him for blowing his cover. Reuben would certainly tease him for such a mistake as well. Or he would just complain about being so far from any decent sandwich ingredients. One of the two.

"Wait-" the small girl dove into the bushes behind her saviour- "where are you going?"

He could feel her arms wrapped around him, holding on as tight as they could. _Persistent little girl._ It would be no problem at all for him to break from his grasp, but something kept him from tearing through. Quickly contemplating his options, he decided the best course of action would be the civil approach.

"I'm looking for someone," he said without turning around. "If I don't hurry I'll lose them."

"Who is it?"

"No one you need to worry about." _I hope._ He tried to delicately pry himself from her grasp without injuring her. "I just need to hurry." Finally he managed to break free. He quickly started to make his leave. "Go home and forget you ever saw me."

"I can't," she whispered. "I don't have a home."

There was only one thing she could say to make him stop dead in his tracks and he silently cursed that she managed to find it. Reluctantly, he turned around to a gasp.

"You're not from around here. Are you?"

The young girl looked six-two-six from top to bottom. They were around the same height with only his ears to overtake her. She couldn't place the red jumpsuit he wore as any sort of clothing she had seen on her island, and while he was blue like her, it was much deeper and covered in fur rather than skin. To her, he looked much more like an animal than one of her people, but she knew she couldn't be rude to her saviour. It wasn't like she had been all over the planet, perhaps he was from another island.

"You could say that," he said with caution.

"I'm Lilac," she replied with a curtsy, "what's your name?"

He was astounded by how well she was taking his appearance. But even more so over how she just completely ignored his earlier claim of being in a hurry. At least the communicator in his suit was still working. That would make this at least a tiny bit easier.

"I don't have a name." He lied. An old name danced on the tip of his tongue. "You said you don't have a home?"

Lilac shook her head. "Not anymore."

Six-two-six sighed, "Of course." He pulled out his tracking device and saw a faint beep slowly moving farther away from him. "Like I said. I'm in a hurry. It'd be best if I dropped you off with someone then-"

"No one will take me." She took a step towards him, not wanting him to go. "People here don't really get messed up in each others business."

"No kidding. You were down there for a while."

She nodded. "I tried calling for help. But no one came. Until you did." She took another step and took hold of the fabric on his arm. "Please don't leave me."

Despite knowing it would be the end of any chance of getting out of this, six-two-six looked into Lilac's eyes. Sorrow, fear, and loneliness filled them; on the brink of tears. She was lost and alone and he could feel something from her that was so familiar. He couldn't leave her. To her joy, he gave in.

"Okay. I'll stay with you."

\\\\\

Reuben walked into the command bridge with hesitation and a heavy heart. After his last blow up with Angel he had kept to himself. Their ship was by no means large, but it was big enough to avoid someone if you wanted. And he was very good at keeping to himself, sometimes even more so than six-two-six. There were times when he missed the giant armada ship he worked on with Gantu, but the smaller and more personable vessel fit him and his cousins a lot better.

Once the metal doors slid open his face was blasted with warning flashes and various alarms.

"What's going on?" he asked as he rushed to his seat.

"I don't know-" Angel frantically typed at her command station- "what's happening. Everything was fine a minute ago."

"Shields are up," Reuben said as he went through the ship's systems. "So is life support. Artificial gravity. Outside Communications. Inside Communications. Radar. Everything is fine."

Angel stayed silent as he kept on his list. Something had to be wrong, there was no way a warning like this would sound for no reason at all. Especially not one they had never seen before.

"I found it."

Her ears perked at his words. Just as she rushed over to his station all the alarms and notifications shut down.

"What was it?" she asked him.

"The ship was trying to reestablish communication with Stitch's scouting ship and couldn't find it. I guess he must have put a protocol over it to alert us if his ship goes offline or-"

"Is destroyed."

Angel didn't like this one bit. It had already been long past time for a report. She had expected the mission to go on longer than either of the others had though, but that would only mean regular updates would come in instead.

"I'm sure he's fine." Reuben turned his seat around and got up to stretch. "Stitch can handle himself. It's probably just something with the planet's atmosphere blocking communications that we don't know about."

"Can we really risk that?" she shot at him.

"We have to." Angel was about to retort again when Reuben cut her off. "If we just barge in there and everything is fine them Stitch will have our heads. I don't know about you, but I remember the last time I went in early." He felt a shudder go down his back at the memory. For a moment, it seemed like six-two-six was going to turn his blaster on him. "He said that if we lose contact with him on a solo mission we can go in after two days."

"What if it's too late by then!?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does so!" she screamed.

Reuben turned from Angel and started making his way towards the door back out. He hated all the fighting. In the early days of their missions everything was going so smoothly. It seemed like he would be able to convince his cousin to go home quite quickly and then life would return to normal. If he had known how long this would last he may not have come in the first place. His mind flashed to Angel's face the day she approached him. Her eyes tore through him with such sadness. There was no way he could turn her down. That Angel was still the same as this Angel. Even if they were near constantly fighting.

"I didn't come here to fight," he said as he turned back.

"It sure seems like it."

Reuben took a deep breath, remembering why he came to the bridge in the first place. "I didn't come here to fight." He turned around to say, "I came here to apologize."

The wall Angel had built up begun to crack. "To apologize?"

"Yeah. For earlier. For yesterday. For the past weeks. Years even. I've been so angry, and I didn't even realize I was taking it out on you."

"It wasn't always me."

"And the walls. And the computers. When you said that I wasn't the only one to lose something... it got me thinking."

Angel stood up and and placed a thankful hand on his shoulder. She didn't want him to beat himself up over this.

"I'm the one who brought you here," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." He placed his hand on hers and gave it an apologetic squeeze. "You've been through a lot. I'm sure the things Stitch says and does hurts you more. And I imagine it feels like you've lost your boojiboo sometimes."

Angel nodded in agreement, letting the weight of the years of pain show in her face and shoulders.

"But I want you to know-" he lifter her chin so she was making eye contact with him again- "that Stitch is still in there."


End file.
